Bridger Range

With warm air temperatures and clouds overnight, the snowpack didn’t get a solid refreeze and uncertainty with wet snow is a little higher today. Wet Loose avalanches are possible anywhere there is more than a couple inches of wet snow. Be on alert as soon as you’re sinking more than ankle deep into wet snow.

Our last daily avalanche forecast will be TOMORROW ,Sunday, April 12. After that, we will post updates on Mondays and Fridays through the end of the month. Thank you all for a great winter season! We really appreciate the support, shared enthusiasm and all the observations we have received throughout this winter.

With air temperatures generally staying above freezing overnight and partly cloudy skies, the snow surface did not get a solid refreeze in most places. This means it’ll take less heating today for Wet Loose avalanches to become possible. 

There will still be plenty of slopes where the avalanche hazard is minimal - look for anywhere with a firm frozen crust that you aren’t breaking through. Unfortunately these slopes are most likely to hold pretty marginal skiing and riding conditions. Slopes where just the top couple inches of snow have softened are where you’ll find the magic combination for good corn ridingand safe snow. 

Pay attention, because the snow can quickly transition from being soft enough for good riding into being wet enough for loose avalanches. Sinking deeper than your ankles into wet snow is a good sign that the snowpack is making this transition. When this starts to happen, move onto colder slopes, lower angled slopes, or head towards home. 

An observation from Beehive Basin yesterday demonstrates the right mindset for today - skiers were heading towards a steeper objective when they encountered wetter snow than they anticipated They listened to the signs, decided that they were too late to safely ski the steeper line and turned back to the trailhead. 

The avalanche danger is MODERATE today, across the forecast area.